Palestrina Choir to sing at Mass with Pope Benedict this weekend

03. Jan, 2013

Palestrina Choir to sing at Mass with Pope Benedict this weekend

The boys of the Palestrina Choir, with their Director Ms. Blanaid Murphy, left Dublin this afternoon (Thursday) to travel to Rome where they will sing at the Papal Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict in St Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, the Feast Day of the Epiphany. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin will also be present at the Mass, during which His Holiness Pope Benedict will ordain four new Archbishops’.

Invited by the director of the Sistine Chapel Choir, on Sunday 32 Boy Choristers and 12 Gentlemen from the ranks of the Palestrina Choir will join and sing some repertoire with the prestigious Sistine Chapel Choir while also singing some repertoire on their own to showcase the best of Irish liturgical choral music.

The Palestrina Choir, installed in the Pro-Cathedral in January 1903 is one of the best known choirs in the country. It has played a significant role in the 110 years in championing the highest standards of Catholic liturgical music. The Choir sings every Sunday at 11a.m. Mass in St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral in Dublin. In June, the choir sang at both the opening and closing ceremonies of the International Eucharistic Congress.

Television broadcasts of the Mass from St. Peter’s, at 8.30am on Sunday are available on